Physician’s Briefing Weekly Coronavirus Roundup

Here is what the editors at Physician’s Briefing chose as the most important COVID-19 developments for you and your practice for the week of April 20 to 24, 2020. This roundup includes the latest research news from journal studies and other trusted sources that is most likely to affect clinical practice.

FDA Warns About Treating COVID-19 With Unproven Drugs

FRIDAY, April 24, 2020 (HealthDay News) — Malaria drugs touted by some as potential “game changers” against COVID-19 are actually too dangerous for general use, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned Americans on Friday.

FRIDAY, April 24, 2020 (HealthDay News) — Inconclusive findings from a study investigating the antiviral drug remdesivir as a treatment for COVID-19 were posted to the World Health Organization website “prematurely,” drug maker Gilead Sciences said Thursday.

FRIDAY, April 24, 2020 (HealthDay News) — The most common comorbidities among patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in the New York City area are hypertension, obesity, and diabetes, according to a study published online April 22 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

FRIDAY, April 24, 2020 (HealthDay News) — Changes to health care have been reported among patients with rheumatic diseases during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a study published online April 20 in ACR: Open Rheumatology.

FRIDAY, April 24, 2020 (HealthDay News) — During the COVID-19 outbreak in Hubei province in China, 22.6 percent of children in home confinement reported depressive symptoms, according to a research letter published online April 24 in JAMA Pediatrics.

FRIDAY, April 24, 2020 (HealthDay News) — The median duration of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 RNA is significantly longer in the respiratory samples of patients with severe versus mild disease, according to a study published online April 21 in The BMJ.

FRIDAY, April 24, 2020 (HealthDay News) — Diabetes and/or uncontrolled hyperglycemia occur frequently among hospitalized patients with COVID-19 and are associated with worse outcomes, according to a study accepted for publication in the Journal of Diabetes Science and Technology.

FRIDAY, April 24, 2020 (HealthDay News) — Anesthesiologists on the front lines of treating surgical COVID-19 patients in Turkey are generally knowledgeable about airway management, according to the results of a national survey published online April 6 in Surgical Infections.

THURSDAY, April 23, 2020 (HealthDay News) — A plan to begin paying hospitals and doctors who treat uninsured COVID-19 patients was announced by U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar on Wednesday.

THURSDAY, April 23, 2020 (HealthDay News) — Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 can spread rapidly in homeless shelters, according to two studies published in the April 22 early-release issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

THURSDAY, April 23, 2020 (HealthDay News) — In January to March 2020, there were more chemical exposures reported to the National Poison Data System than in the corresponding months of 2019 and 2018, according to research published in the April 20 early-release issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

THURSDAY, April 23, 2020 (HealthDay News) — For patients with hypertension hospitalized with COVID-19 infections, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors/angiotensin receptor blockers are not associated with the severity or mortality of COVID-19, according to a brief report published online April 23 in JAMA Cardiology.

THURSDAY, April 23, 2020 (HealthDay News) — Most children with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection have mild respiratory symptoms or are asymptomatic, according to a review published online April 22 in JAMA Pediatrics.

THURSDAY, April 23, 2020 (HealthDay News) — A registry has been created for reporting skin manifestations of COVID-19 following reports of patients presenting with skin conditions, including findings outlined in a letter to the editor published online March 26 in the Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology.

THURSDAY, April 23, 2020 (HealthDay News) — For patients hospitalized with mild/moderate COVID-19, lopinavir/ritonavir or umifenovir monotherapy offers little benefit, according to a study published online April 17 in Med.

WEDNESDAY, April 22, 2020 (HealthDay News) — There is no proven drug treatment for COVID-19 patients, according to a panel of experts convened by the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

WEDNESDAY, April 22, 2020 (HealthDay News) — There is no evidence that use of hydroxychloroquine alone or with azithromycin reduces the risks for mechanical ventilation or death from any cause in patients hospitalized with COVID-19, according to a study that has not yet been peer reviewed and was posted online April 21 at medRxiv.org.

WEDNESDAY, April 22, 2020 (HealthDay News) — For patients with COVID-19 who have ST-segment elevation, indicating potential acute myocardial infarction, there is considerable variability in presentation, and prognosis is poor, according to a letter to the editor published online April 17 in the New England Journal of Medicine.

WEDNESDAY, April 22, 2020 (HealthDay News) — There is a high frequency of obesity among patients admitted to intensive care for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, according to a study published online April 9 in Obesity.

WEDNESDAY, April 22, 2020 (HealthDay News) — A scoring system for medically necessary time-sensitive procedures can facilitate decision making and triage in the setting of COVID-19, according to a study published online April 9 in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.

TUESDAY, April 21, 2020 (HealthDay News) — An early analysis of antibody testing from Los Angeles County reveals a COVID-19 infection rate that is up to 55 times the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases.

TUESDAY, April 21, 2020 (HealthDay News) — COVID-19 is not associated with the symptoms typically associated with a viral cold or allergies, such as nasal blockage or mucus production, according to a review published online April 10 in Laryngoscope Investigative Otolaryngology.

TUESDAY, April 21, 2020 (HealthDay News) — Expanding COVID-19 symptom screening criteria to include myalgias and chills could identify more health care personnel with the illness, according to a research letter published online April 17 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

TUESDAY, April 21, 2020 (HealthDay News) — About 176,190 children nationwide were estimated to be infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 by April 6, 2020, according to a study published online April 16 in the Journal of Public Health Management & Practice.

TUESDAY, April 21, 2020 (HealthDay News) — About 20 percent of specimens positive for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection are positive for other respiratory pathogens, according to a research letter published online April 15 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

TUESDAY, April 21, 2020 (HealthDay News) — During the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a 38 percent reduction in U.S. cardiac catheterization laboratory ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction activations, according to a research letter published online April 10 in the Journal of the American College of Cariology.

MONDAY, April 20, 2020 (HealthDay News) — The first COVID-19 tests in the United States were ineffective due to poor laboratory practices at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said.

MONDAY, April 20, 2020 (HealthDay News) — Public health measures implemented to suppress local transmission of COVID-19 in Hong Kong were associated with reduced transmission of COVID-19 and influenza, according to a study published online April 17 in The Lancet Public Health.

MONDAY, April 20, 2020 (HealthDay News) — In an article published online April 3 in Contact Lens and Anterior Eye, important considerations are presented for contact lens wearers in the setting of the COVID-19 pandemic.

MONDAY, April 20, 2020 (HealthDay News) — Patients with COVID-19 may require ear, nose, and throat consultations for many reasons, including tracheotomy, and protective strategies can prevent infection of otolaryngologists, according to a case series study accepted for publication in Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery.

MONDAY, April 20, 2020 (HealthDay News) — The economic benefits of lives saved through social distancing substantially outweigh the value of the projected losses to the U.S. economy, according to a study to be published in a forthcoming issue of the Journal of Benefit-Cost Analysis.

MONDAY, April 20, 2020 (HealthDay News) — Diabetes may contribute to more severe symptoms, rapid progression, and poorer prognosis in patients infected with COVID-19, according to a study published online March 31 in Diabetes Metabolism Research and Reviews.